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Posted on 03/05/2008 5:59:39 PM PST by nwctwx
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1982435/posts?page=1
More Nevada surgery clinics to be cited
This has a comment that 18 are now closed.
About time.
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/china/
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/russia/
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982744/posts
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http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080307/NATION04/676427087
“INSIDE THE RING - Page 1
“CHINA MISSILES” (March 7, 2008)
by Bill Gertz
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “One little-noticed intelligence disclosure contained in the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power says China now has ballistic missiles designed to hit U.S. aircraft carriers and ships at sea.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Other new weapons that are part of the precision-guided missile arsenal are advanced cruise missiles, medium-range ballistic missiles, the direct ascent anti-satellite missiles, like the one tested in January 2007.”
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“INSIDE THE RING - Page 2
“NIMITZ BUZZED AGAIN” (March 7, 2008)
by Bill Gertz
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said the overflight was not viewed as threatening or a concern.”
http://www.truthusa.com/IRAN.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/hamas/
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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/020232.php
(SUNDAY TIMES via IranFocus.com)
March 9, 2008
“’Iran is our mother’: Hamas says 150 jihadists currently training in Iran”
Fyi Only.
Note: The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3516668,00.html
East Iran hit by tremors, no casualties reported
Published: 03.09.08, 09:51 / Israel News
Three tremors, the biggest measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, struck eastern Iran on Sunday but an official said there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, Iran’s Mehr News Agency reported.
The quakes struck a region near the eastern city of Birjand, which is about 490 miles east of Tehran in South Khorasan province that borders Afghanistan, Mehr reported. (Reuters)
http://www.truthusa.com/MoreThanCartoons.html
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/cartoonjihad/
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/filmjihad/
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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3516719,00.html
(REUTERS)
“Afghans threaten attacks on troops over cartoon”
Published: 03.09.08, 11:08 / Israel News
http://www.longwarjournal.org/fastsearch?tag=Philippines
Note: Photos included.
Note; The following blog entry is a quote:
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/03/in_pictures_jemaah_i.php
In Pictures: Jemaah Islamiyah
By BILL ROGGIO
March 8, 2008 8:25 AM
Click image to view presentation of Jemaah Islamiyah’s leadership.
Jemaah Islamiyah is an Islamist terrorist group that seeks to establish a pan-Islamic state across Southeast Asia. Jemaah Islamiyah is most active in Indonesia and the Philippines, but is also believed to conduct operations in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia. The terror group is al Qaeda’s regional affiliate in Southeast Asia and its operatives have been responsible for devastating attacks in the region, including the 2002 and 2005 Bali bombings, the 2004 suicide car bombing outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the August 2003 car bombing of the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, and a series of bombings in Manila.
This photo presentation will look at the major leaders and operatives in the Southeast Asian terror group.
Nick Grace contributed to this presentation.
http://www.theaviationnation.com
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=us&q=%22China+Southern+Airlines%22&btnG=Search+News
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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336248,00.html
“Chinese Official: Flight Crew Prevented Planned Terrorist Act Aboard Jetliner”
Sunday, March 09, 2008
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “BEIJING — A Chinese official says a flight crew prevented an apparent attempt to crash a Chinese jetliner last week.
The incident occurred Friday morning shortly after the China Southern Airlines flight left the far western city of Urumuqi at 10:35 a.m., said Nur Bekri, the governor of the sprawling western Xinjiang region.”
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7286028.stm
Last Updated: Sunday, 9 March 2008, 10:29 GMT
“Chinese ‘foiled airline attack’”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Chinese officials say a plane crew prevented an apparent attempt to crash an airliner making a flight from western China to Beijing.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “He said the crew responded and brought the plane to an emergency landing in the city of Lanzhou, in neighbouring Gansou province, with no damage or injuries.
Reuters quoted an anonymous source saying inflammable material was found in the plane’s toilet, and that at least two passengers on the flight were taken into custody.
There was no confirmation of this.
Meanwhile, a top Communist Party official from the Xinjiang region said that suspected separatists killed in a raid in Muslim-dominated north-west China earlier this year had been planning an attack on the Olympic Games.”
Meanwhile, a top Communist Party official from the Xinjiang region said that suspected separatists killed in a raid in Muslim-dominated north-west China earlier this year had been planning an attack on the Olympic Games.”
Interesting.
Yep.
Global jihad — another day.
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080308-1.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 8, 2008
Message to the House of Representatives
I am returning herewith without my approval H.R. 2082, the “Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008.” The bill would impede the United States Government’s efforts to protect the American people effectively from terrorist attacks and other threats because it imposes several unnecessary and unacceptable burdens on our Intelligence Community.
Section 444 of the bill would impose additional Senate confirmation requirements on two national security positions the Director of the National Security Agency and the Director of the National Reconnaissance Office. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) observed that the effectiveness of the Intelligence Community suffers due to delays in the confirmation process; section 444 would only aggravate those serious problems. Senior intelligence officials need to assume their duties and responsibilities as quickly as possible to address the pressing requirements of national security. Instead of addressing the 9/11 Commission’s concern, the bill would subject two additional vital positions to a more protracted process of Senate confirmation. Apart from causing such potentially harmful delays, this unwarranted requirement for Senate confirmation would also risk injecting political pressure into these positions of technical expertise and public trust.
Section 413 would create a new Inspector General for the Intelligence Community. This new office is duplicative and unnecessary. Each intelligence community component already has an Inspector General, and the Inspector General of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has been vested with all the legal powers of any inspector general to carry out investigations on matters under the jurisdiction of the Director of National Intelligence. There is no reason to commit taxpayer resources to an additional inspector general with competing jurisdiction over the same intelligence elements. Creating duplicative inspectors general, who may have inconsistent views on the handling of particular matters, has the potential to create conflicts and impede the Intelligence Community from efficiently resolving issues and carrying out its core mission. In addition, the creation of a new inspector general would add yet another position in the Intelligence Community subject to Senate confirmation, contrary to the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations.
Section 327 of the bill would harm our national security by requiring any element of the Intelligence Community to use only the interrogation methods authorized in the Army Field Manual on Interrogations. It is vitally important that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) be allowed to maintain a separate and classified interrogation program. The Army Field Manual is directed at guiding the actions of nearly three million active duty and reserve military personnel in connection with the detention of lawful combatants during the course of traditional armed conflicts, but terrorists often are trained specifically to resist techniques prescribed in publicly available military regulations such as the Manual. The CIA’s ability to conduct a separate and specialized interrogation program for terrorists who possess the most critical information in the War on Terror has helped the United States prevent a number of attacks, including plots to fly passenger airplanes into the Library Tower in Los Angeles and into Heathrow Airport or buildings in downtown London. While details of the current CIA program are classified, the Attorney General has reviewed it and determined that it is lawful under existing domestic and international law, including Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. I remain committed to an intelligence-gathering program that complies with our legal obligations and our basic values as a people. The United States opposes torture, and I remain committed to following international and domestic law regarding the humane treatment of people in its custody, including the “Detainee Treatment Act of 2005.”
My disagreement over section 327 is not over any particular interrogation technique; for instance, it is not over waterboarding, which is not part of the current CIA program. Rather, my concern is the need to maintain a separate CIA program that will shield from disclosure to al Qaeda and other terrorists the interrogation techniques they may face upon capture. In accordance with a clear purpose of the “Military Commissions Act of 2006,” my veto is intended to allow the continuation of a separate and classified CIA interrogation program that the Department of Justice has determined is lawful and that operates according to rules distinct from the more general rules applicable to the Department of Defense. While I will continue to work with the Congress on the implementation of laws passed in this area in recent years, I cannot sign into law a bill that would prevent me, and future Presidents, from authorizing the CIA to conduct a separate, lawful intelligence program, and from taking all lawful actions necessary to protect Americans from attack.
Other provisions of the bill purport to require the executive branch to submit information to the Congress that may be constitutionally protected from disclosure, including information the disclosure of which could impair foreign relations, the national security, the deliberative processes of the Executive, or the performance of the Executive’s constitutional duties. Section 326, for example, would require that the executive branch report, on a very short deadline and in accordance with a rigid set of specific statutory requirements, the details of highly classified interrogation techniques and the confidential legal advice concerning them. The executive branch voluntarily has provided much of this information to appropriate members of Congress, demonstrating that questions concerning access to such information are best addressed through the customary practices and arrangements between the executive and legislative branches on such matters, rather than through the enactment of legislation.
In addition, section 406 would require a consolidated inventory of Special Access Programs (SAPs) to be submitted to the Congress. Special Access Programs concern the most sensitive information maintained by the Government, and SAP materials are maintained separately precisely to avoid the existence of one document that can serve as a roadmap to our Nation’s most vital information. The executive branch must be permitted to present this information in a manner that does not jeopardize national security. The executive branch will continue to keep the Congress appropriately informed of the matters to which the provisions relate in accordance with the accommodation principles the Constitution contemplates and the executive and legislative branches have long and successfully used to address information sharing on matters of national security.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
March 8, 2008.
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Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080308.html
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 8, 2008
President’s Radio Address
In Focus: Defense
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This week, I addressed the Department of Homeland Security on its fifth anniversary and thanked the men and women who work tirelessly to keep us safe. Because of their hard work, and the efforts of many across all levels of government, we have not suffered another attack on our soil since September the 11th, 2001.
This is not for a lack of effort on the part of the enemy. Al Qaida remains determined to attack America again. Two years ago, Osama bin Laden warned the American people, “Operations are under preparation, and you will see them on your own ground once they are finished.” Because the danger remains, we need to ensure our intelligence officials have all the tools they need to stop the terrorists.
Unfortunately, Congress recently sent me an intelligence authorization bill that would diminish these vital tools. So today, I vetoed it. And here is why:
The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror — the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives. This program has produced critical intelligence that has helped us prevent a number of attacks. The program helped us stop a plot to strike a U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, a plot to hijack a passenger plane and fly it into Library Tower in Los Angeles, and a plot to crash passenger planes into Heathrow Airport or buildings in downtown London. And it has helped us understand al Qaida’s structure and financing and communications and logistics. Were it not for this program, our intelligence community believes that al Qaida and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland.
The main reason this program has been effective is that it allows the CIA to use specialized interrogation procedures to question a small number of the most dangerous terrorists under careful supervision. The bill Congress sent me would deprive the CIA of the authority to use these safe and lawful techniques. Instead, it would restrict the CIA’s range of acceptable interrogation methods to those provided in the Army Field Manual. The procedures in this manual were designed for use by soldiers questioning lawful combatants captured on the battlefield. They were not intended for intelligence professionals trained to question hardened terrorists.
Limiting the CIA’s interrogation methods to those in the Army Field Manual would be dangerous because the manual is publicly available and easily accessible on the Internet. Shortly after 9/11, we learned that key al Qaida operatives had been trained to resist the methods outlined in the manual. And this is why we created alternative procedures to question the most dangerous al Qaida operatives, particularly those who might have knowledge of attacks planned on our homeland. The best source of information about terrorist attacks is the terrorists themselves. If we were to shut down this program and restrict the CIA to methods in the Field Manual, we could lose vital information from senior al Qaida terrorists, and that could cost American lives.
The bill Congress sent me would not simply ban one particular interrogation method, as some have implied. Instead, it would eliminate all the alternative procedures we’ve developed to question the world’s most dangerous and violent terrorists. This would end an effective program that Congress authorized just over a year ago.
The fact that we have not been attacked over the past six-and-a-half years is not a matter of chance. It is the result of good policies and the determined efforts of individuals carrying them out. We owe these individuals our thanks, and we owe them the authorities they need to do their jobs effectively.
We have no higher responsibility than stopping terrorist attacks. And this is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe.
Thank you for listening.
END
IN FOCUS: DEFENSE
http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/defense/
PERSECUTION.ORG
http://www.persecution.org
Well, breaking news keeps breeeeaaaakking....
Note; The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3516791,00.html
Chinese official says foiled terror plot targeted Beijing Olympics Games
Published: 03.09.08, 13:01 / Israel News
Chinese police captured and killed alleged Islamic terrorists plotting attacks targeting the Beijing Olympic Games, a senior Communist Party official said Sunday.
Wang Lequan, the top official in the far western region of Xinjiang, said materials seized in the Jan. 27 raid in the regional capital, Urumqi, suggested the plotter’s purpose was to “specifically to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics.” (AP)
Thanks to Hal for this post.
Note; The following post is a quote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1982781/posts?page=2#2
Xinhua -
Terrorist Attack Prevented for Olympics: Official
The terrorists killed earlier this year in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region had planned an attack targeting the Beijing Olympic Games, a senior Chinese official said on Sunday.
Chinese police smashed a terrorist gang in January in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, killing two and arresting 15 others. Knives, axes and books about terrorism were seized.
“Obviously, the gang had planned an attack targeting the Olympics,” said Wang Lequan, chief of the Xinjiang autonomous regional committee of the Communist Party of China on the sidelines of the national parliamentary session.
The group was said to have collaborated with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a group the United Nations labeled a terrorist organization in 2002.
“The Olympic Games slated for this August is a big event, but there are always a few people who conspire sabotages. It is no longer a secret now,” said Wang.
“Those terrorists, saboteurs and secessionists are to be battered resolutely, no matter what ethnic group they are from,” said the official.
2 posted on 03/09/2008 4:06:47 AM PDT by HAL9000 (”If someone who has access to the press says something over and over again, people believe it”- B.C.)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336261,00.html
Report: Al Qaeda Spies Believed to Have Infiltrated British Police Force
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Four British police officers are under surveillance after being identified as possible Al Qaeda spies, it is being reported.
MI5 — Britain’s equivalent to the CIA — discovered that the so-called “sleepers” — or agents under deep cover — were planted to keep Al Qaeda abreast of anti-terror raids planned by London’s Metropolitan Police, According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail newspaper.
Investigators are said to be closing in on the agents — believed to be of Asian descent and living in London — only in recent weeks. The suspects are said to have links to Islamic extremists in Britain and Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Mail reported.
The police officers — still on active duty — were identified during an investigation into police force infiltration which has been going on since the July 2005 London bombings, the Mail reported.
MI5 agents are watching the four suspects — who work at different police stations around London — and gathering evidence needed to make arrests.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,336265,00.html
Workers Move WTC Staircase Cherished as 9/11 Escape Route
Sunday, March 09, 2008
NEW YORK — Workers have begun moving a staircase that served as an escape route for countless survivors of the attack on the World Trade Center.
The stairway survived Sept. 11 and remains the only aboveground remnant of the trade center complex. Its 37 stairs once connected the outdoor plaza outside the twin towers to the street below.
An American flag was placed on the staircase Sunday before it was hoisted onto a flatbed truck by a crane.
snip...
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